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How to Find a Complementary Business to Help Yours Grow

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 11:29:53 GMT

Finding the Ideal Business Collaboration

If you’re a small- to medium-sized business that is trying to carve out a place for itself in a competitive market, you want to differentiate yourself from the competition. One way to do that is to offer something no one else is doing. You can create a new product or service or go after an untapped market. But if you’ve already tried all of those and you’re looking for something else, it’s time to find the peanut butter to your chocolate or the peas to your carrots.

You don’t need a formalized partnership with stakes in one another’s business. Instead, you can create special collaborations, offers, or referrals that are mutually beneficial to the businesses and your audiences.

Partnering with another business can help you both offer something to your markets that neither has seen. Here are three ways to find your perfect complementary business so you both can profit:

1. Brainstorm Businesses That Fit Yours Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate

Make a list of businesses that provide a complementary service or product that you don’t offer but would benefit your target market. Ideally, the collaboration between you and this business should create something that other businesses aren’t doing. For instance, a bar that doesn’t serve food may pair up with a food truck to provide bar patrons with easy access to food while food truck aficionados can enjoy an alcoholic drink. Since some food trucks have sizable followings giving them access to your parking lot or a place to park can bring in new customers for you as well.

2. Think About What Your Customers Want

Building on that, make a list of what you hear customers asking for that you don’t currently do/offer. Take that list and decide whether those ideas make sense for your business. You can then decide to offer a new product or service line based on those customer requests, or you can collaborate with someone who has already created a successful business doing those things. For instance, if you own a gym, you could create a juice bar on-site or offer a healthy menu planning service. You could also work with someone to fill those needs. Here too there are options. You can rent some of your space to that business or create an affiliate or referral program so your gym members receive discounts for those other products or services at the other business’ location.

3. Decide What Is Stopping Customers From Buying

Is there something that is prohibiting potential customers from buying from you? What is the wall to purchase? Identify what is holding people back and solve it through collaboration. For instance, if you sell something large like furniture but you don’t offer delivery, partnering with a delivery or moving company may increase your sales. Some people don’t have the means (strength or room) to bring a large item home. But you may not want the headache of employing movers and covering the insurance. A partnership of this kind can benefit everyone.

Business collaborations can help your business, the collaborator’s business, and (both of) your markets. By understanding what your customers need and want, as well as what holds them back from buying, you can create a satisfactory collaboration that benefits everyone and serves to separate you from your competition. This way, you’ll gain exposure to a new market or additional customers as well as improve business relationships.

If you’re not sure how to make connections with other businesses, contact the Chamber. We will put you in touch with someone looking to grow in a similar way.

Christina R. Metcalf, Marketer and Small-Business Expert.

**Content may be somewhat altered to better fit your area.

3 Solutions to Common Hiring Problems

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 11:56:31 GMT

Some businesses are saying we are in the midst of a secondary pandemic. But it’s not the kind that requires masks and handwashing. No, this one is harder to control...

There is a dearth of people willing (or able) to work for a multitude of reasons. Employers across the country are posting signs asking for patience with their existing employees because the business is understaffed. In fact, there are hiring managers who are scheduling interviews only to have no one show up! You can’t hire people who don’t even come to an interview.

So, what can you (business) do to combat the 3 common hiring problems these days? Here are some ideas.

Employment Hiring Challenges Post-COVID

If you brush wages aside as the main reason people don’t show up for interviews or first days for that matter, what are you left with?

Working from Home

It’s the elephant in the room. Why would a worker want to work behind a counter when they can sit at home and work (or sit by the pool or in a coffee shop, etc.). An unparalleled number of businesses created work from home scenarios, and many will stick to those protocols long after COVID. Work at home is no longer a perk. It’s an expectation and it’s hard to compete with that.

Solution: If your business is entirely in-person, it’s not like you’ll never be able to hire again. But it may take some creativity to appeal to workers. Things you might be able to do include flexible shifts (such as working around a child’s schedule) or floating start times within a window of time. The clue here is to get creative with the allowances you can make.

Ghosting Is the Norm

Ghosting has become the norm in relationships. Don’t want to deal with a difficult situation, ignore it and disappear. We’re starting to see this trickle down into our workforce. It’s acceptable to just not show for an interview, first day, drug screen, etc.

Solution: This is difficult to do when you’ve only had minutes of interaction with a candidate. However, people are more likely to ghost when they don’t feel a connection or don’t think of the employer as a person but rather a large corporate structure as in the “they won’t even notice I’m not there” scenario.

In order to avoid being ghosted, you have to do your best to connect with them in the short time you have. Share details about your life. Maybe you’re interviewing them on a special day and “fitting” them in or “clearing” your schedule. Do it respectfully and don’t force the guilt but try and make an impression. You may still get ghosted, but it will be less likely if they see you as a person with needs and feelings.

Reevaluating the Same Old, Same Old

With our forced downtime in recent years, we were exposed to a LOT of marketing messaging and frankly many people are just burned out. They may find it hard to believe the claims of some companies.

Another thing people may have done is reevaluating things in their lives that just aren’t working. Some people may have decided that life is too short to work at an unfulfilling job. Others may have seen this pandemic as a kick in the pants from the universe to start their own job. Maybe they saw how being a loyal employee can still result in a lay-off or furlough. Whatever the cause of their employment ennui, people have changed, and you’ll need to too.

Solution: find out what your existing employees want (and what makes them stay with you). Use that in your job marketing. Ask employees for referrals. Reward them for their loyalty and they’ll talk about how great you are to their friends.

Employers are facing an unparalleled time right now, finding it very difficult to recruit good people. For many businesses, it’s difficult to get interest let alone keep someone after their first day. In order to be competitive in the job market, you need to stand out. These tips should help you do that. But you’ll need to go beyond them to think of some creative experiences for new employees. While you’re at it throw a few in for your customers. You never know. A loyal customer may just want to become part of your team.

Christina R. Metcalf, Marketer and Small-Business Expert.

**Content may be somewhat altered to better fit your area.

Make the most of the season by following these simple guidelines

richard@membermomentum.com (Richard Scully) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 22:01:51 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating right or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.

Keep in touch with site visitors and boost loyalty

richard@membermomentum.com (Richard Scully) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 22:01:51 GMT

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors. Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

Here are some reasons to make blogging part of your regular routine.

Blogging is an easy way to engage with site visitors

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it. Posts don’t need to be long or complicated. Just write about what you know, and do your best to write well.

Show customers your personality

When you write a blog post, you can really let your personality shine through. This can be a great tool for showing your distinct personality.

Blogging is a terrific form of communication

Blogs are a great communication tool. They tend to be longer than social media posts, which gives you plenty of space for sharing insights, handy tips and more.

It’s a great way to support and boost SEO

Search engines like sites that regularly post fresh content, and a blog is a great way of doing this. With relevant metadata for every post so search engines can find your content.

Drive traffic to your site

Every time you add a new post, people who have subscribed to it will have a reason to come back to your site. If the post is a good read, they’ll share it with others, bringing even more traffic!

Blogging is free

Maintaining a blog on your site is absolutely free. You can hire bloggers if you like or assign regularly blogging tasks to everyone in your company.

A natural way to build your brand

A blog is a wonderful way to build your brand’s distinct voice. Write about issues that are related to your industry and your customers.

Tips for writing great posts that increase your site traffic

richard@membermomentum.com (Richard Scully) — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 22:01:51 GMT

Write about something you know. If you don’t know much about a specific topic that will interest your readers, invite an expert to write about it.

Speak to your audience

You know your audience better than anyone else, so keep them in mind as you write your blog posts. Write about things they care about. If you have a company Facebook page, look here to find topics to write about

Take a few moments to plan your post

Once you have a great idea for a post, write the first draft. Some people like to start with the title and then work on the paragraphs. Other people like to start with subtitles and go from there. Choose the method that works for you.

Don’t forget to add images

Be sure to include a few high-quality images in your blog. Images break up the text and make it more readable. They can also convey emotions or ideas that are hard to put into words.

Edit carefully before posting

Once you’re happy with the text, put it aside for a day or two, and then re-read it. You’ll probably find a few things you want to add, and a couple more that you want to remove. Have a friend or colleague look it over to make sure there are no mistakes. When your post is error-free, set it up in your blog and publish.